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Lionhead Studios has confirmed it is currently not working on a numbered sequel to the Fable series, and is instead focusing all of its efforts on Fable Legends.
The studio responded to a fan question earlier today asking when Fable 4 would launch. “We're not working on a Fable 4, Fable Legends is our priority and will be for the foreseeable future,” Lionhead Studios responded.
It’s been five years since Fable 3 was released on the Xbox 360 and over two years since Fable Legends was announced. While Fable Legends won’t offer the typical Fable experience as it’ll be a free-to-play game that features a story’s worth of quests available at launch.
We’re sure many of you, just like us, were hoping Lionhead Studios was working on Fable 4 while it was working on Fable Legends. Today’s news means that we probably shouldn’t expect an official sequel of the Fable series for some time considering Fable Legends has yet to launch, and we’re sure the studio has several months of additional content lined up for the game.
Daniel Perez posted a new article, Fable Legends is the reason why there's no Fable 4 yet
Are they trying to make sure I hate this even more? I can't imagine Legends doing well, and the fact that it's preventing Fable 4 from happening sooner makes it worse.
Fable 4 would be the thing that gets me to buy an XBO.
Who gives a shit about Fable


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Are people too eager to sue these days?
Not everyone was happy with the surprise that Dodge would sell a batch of 2023 Durango Hellcats after saying 2022 would be the only model year of production. A group of 2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat owners are suing the automaker for a list of reasons that reportedly includes false advertising and unjust enrichment.
Watch a Durango Hellcat race a Jeep Trackhawk here.
Not everyone is going to be sympathetic to these people. After all, they might have paid over $100,000 for their Dodge Durango Hellcat, but there were plenty of people who would’ve gladly shelled out for one and didn’t get the chance. Sure, some got in there with the surprise 2023 models, but there are still people willing to chop off a body part to get one.
At the same time, other people know what it’s like to be supposedly burned by an automaker doing something like this. Sure, there are only seven 2021 Durango Hellcat owners who are filing suit like spurned lovers, but others have felt companies did them dirty by selling more of a supposedly rare product than those customer would’ve liked.
“Well, well, well, how the turntables.” Michael Scott put it best in the oft-quoted episode of The Office. When you buy a limited-edition car and hope to capitalize on that financially, there is the risk that later it might not be as valuable as you thought. Maybe it’s because the automaker will surprisingly make more, or in the case of the Chrysler PT Cruiser, everyone simultaneously stops caring about it. Life is full of risks.
The question here, which might ultimately be up to a jury and judge, is whether or not Dodge broke the law? But we can also ask if people are overly eager to sue over just about anything these days? Tell us what you think.
Images via Stellantis

domain: news


text: Today, Vive announced a change to their Viveport subscription service. Vive is upping the monthly premium from $6.99 to $8.99 per month. So what is Viveport and why do we care? Viveport is the app store for virtual reality content and experiences. Building on the fast growth and success of VR gaming, Viveport features a wide range of VR experiences that inspire people to discover, create, connect, watch, and shop in VR.


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Tuesday, May 1, 2012
April 27, 2012: eMarketer in the News
Here are a few of the top stories in which eMarketer data has been featured in the past week or so:
The New York Times – In Search of Apps for Television
The same consumers who delight in navigating the iPad still click frustratingly through cable channels to find a basketball game. Their complaint: Why can’t television be more like a tablet? Read more.
The Financial Times – Facebook Profits Dip Before IPO
Facebook’s profits and revenues fell in the first three months of 2012, compared with the final quarter of last year, marking a setback for the social networking company just weeks before its widely anticipated initial public offering. Read more.
Advertising Age – Facebook Shows It’s Subject to Laws of Advertising
Facebook is predominantly an advertising business, and its latest filing shows it’s not immune to the advertising business cycle. Read more.
Forbes – Facebook’s Seasonal Slowdown: Explanation or Excuse?
Should Facebook investors (and would-be investors) be nervous that the social networking behemoth just posted its first quarter-to-quarter revenue decline in at least two years, just weeks in advance of its expected $100 billion IPO? Read more.
Bloomberg – Facebook First-Quarter Profit Drops; Costs Almost Double
Facebook Inc., the social network planning an initial public offering, said first-quarter profit fell 12 percent as sales growth slowed and marketing costs more than doubled. Read more.
The Hollywood Reporter – Upfronts 2012: AOL Announces New Flagship Hub For Video Content
At a presentation tonight, the online giant launches the “AOL On Network” and also has announced seven new series, including a reality series that stars Nina Garcia, and celebrity-curated video playlists. Read more.
Los Angeles Times – Facebook’s First-Quarter Finances Underwhelm as IPO Nears
The rapid growth of Facebook Inc. showed signs of slowing in the first quarter, potentially cooling investors’ fervor just weeks before the company’s hotly anticipated initial public stock offering. Read more.
Los Angeles Times – Facebook Sales Rise, Profit Slips; Shares Valued at $30.89
Facebook, on the verge of the largest initial public stock offering in Silicon Valley history, generated more than $1 billion in sales in the first quarter, a jump of 45%, but its first-quarter net income slipped year over year. Read more.


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CoAlign Innovations landed a nod from federal regulators for the XL version of its AccuLIF device, used during spine fusion surgeries.
CoAlign’s interbody implant is used during the lateral approach to spine surgery, a less-invasive method than traditional posterior fusion or anterior fusion techniques. During lateral surgery, the AccuLIF device is placed inside the target spine section before expanding to create an accurate reconstruction of proper spine anatomy, according to a press release.
The XL size is the latest in a line of AccuLIF products. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company said it will be announcing other versions of the AccuLIF line in upcoming months.
AccuLIF products are designed to restore the spine’s natural curve. The XL size still allows surgeons to insert the device in a compact form, and then expands to appropriate size for larger patients, according to the release.
"Because the lateral approach represents such a large and growing portion of the spine market, we are very excited to add the XL device to the AccuLIF family," executive chairman Paul Goeld said in prepared remarks.


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The official UK launch of the Swarovski Group’s newest brand, Adore Jewellery was held yesterday at Blow Ltd in London for press, influencers and bloggers to peruse the new collections.
Myalee Sofield, previously head of buying and merchandising for Fraser Hart, has been appointed to head of business development for the brand. Sofield has been a key industry player in the UK watch and jewellery industry for nearly 20 years, and was at the forefront of spearheading the growth of Fossil in the UK in 2002.
Speaking of the new venture earlier in the year, Sofield said: “I am moving out of watches, which is a little sad, and I am obviously very sad to be leaving Fraser Hart as I have loved my role here and of course my team.
“It was a huge decision to make, but I am now looking forward to the next challenge and Swarovski is a huge international company with lots of opportunity so although a little nervous, I am also very excited!”
Adore Jewellery plans to appeal to a fashion-conscious female audience, and the brand has been conscious to avoid an overlap with fellow Swarovski Group brand, lolaandgrace. The brand will sit at a slightly higher price point to lolaandgrace, and below the Swarovski brand.
The range features a selection of feminine fashion pieces, offering collections that are both classic and contemporary.


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New Report Analyzes Wyoming's Beef Industry, Discusses Value-Added Opportunities
The Wyoming Business Council has released a new report summarizing the status of the state's beef industry.
The report takes a comprehensive look at ways to add value to different aspects of Wyoming's beef industry. That would include opportunities such as more federally inspected processing plants, creating a market for animal byproducts and building a bigger workforce.
Ron Gullberg, strategic partnerships director at the Wyoming Business Council, said there isn't a market in the state for cattle byproducts or offal. So, producers have to spend money to dispose of the byproducts.
"That right away out of the gate puts them at a $148 per head disadvantage [compared] to say the big processors in bordering states like Colorado and Nebraska because they have so much volume, and they've got that infrastructure built around them that they are actually making money off the offal," he said.
Additionally, many cattle producers have to send their beef across state lines to be processed. Gullberg said that takes away from the value-added opportunities in Wyoming.
"Less than a decade ago in Wyoming, there were no USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] processing plants," Gullberg said.
Within the past couple of years, a few small processing plants have become federally certified. Now, Gullberg says the state is close to having five small USDA processing plants in the state.
Cattle ranching in the state is growing, but the processing and value-added business side has not kept up, Gullberg said.
"There's a great opportunity if we can get this whole value chain going in Wyoming. It will take time and it'll take a lot of coordinated efforts and some successes and failures. But it's there. We just need to connect the dots," he said.
The report does offer some suggestions to add value to the industry. For instance, Gullberg said building a rendering plant or a freezing system for animal byproducts to be sold later to animal feed production could help out producers.
He also said something like blockchain and other source-verification tools could be valuable for creating branding for Wyoming beef.
Additionally, building a workforce will be critical if the state wants to house such facilities. Gullberg said Central Wyoming College's meat processing degree and the University of Wyoming's Meat Lab will help to train workers who could take on these jobs.
Gullberg said he hopes the report helps stakeholders come together to start working on solutions to support the industry.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at email@example.com.


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July 2020, Volume 26, Number 3
Meat and Migrants
Meatpacking was considered an essential business during the coronavirus emergency, so most animal dis-assembly plants expected their employees to work. Meatpacking plants are cold, have many metal surfaces, and are often loud, forcing workers to raise their voices to be heard and contributing to the spread of Covid.
Meatpacking plants, nursing homes, and prisons were three hotspots for Covid-19.
About three-fourths of meatpacking workers are represented by unions, which called on meatpackers to slow line speeds so that workers could be spaced further apart. Some workers staged protests, alleging that the plants placed employees too close together to prevent the spread of the virus. The United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents 250,000 meatpacking workers, reported that 15,700 meatpacking workers contracted Covid-19 by July 2020, and 76 died.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July 2020 released a report on 16,000 Covid-19 cases at 239 meatpacking plants in 21 states that found that 87 percent of meatpacking workers infected were racial or ethnic minorities; these minorities were 61 percent of workers. White non-Hispanics are 39 percent of meatpacking workers, and they accounted for 13 percent of Covid-19 cases. The share of workers infected varied from three to 24 percent across plants.
The US has 800 federally inspected slaughterhouses, but the largest 50 account for most US meat production, including 15 that process 60 percent of US pork. Most of the plants owned by Tyson Foods, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods have over 500 employees and are not required to offer paid sick leave. Nonetheless, some began to offer paid sick leave, and some offered bonuses of up to $500 a month to employees who did not miss any work.
Tyson, JBS and Smithfield closed 15 plants in April 2020, reducing the US pork supply by a quarter. Tyson closed its largest pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa after almost 30 percent of the 2,700 employees tested positive for Covid-19, and closed another plant in Storm Lake, Iowa after a quarter of the 2,300 workers tested positive.
Smithfield Foods closed its 3,700 employee Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant that processes 19,500 hogs a day after over 500 workers tested positive; 30 percent of Covid-19 cases in South Dakota are linked to meatpacking plants. Smithfield, which employs 40,000 workers in the US, was bought by China?s WH Group Ltd in 2013 for $4.7 billion. South Dakota was one of five US states that did not issue stay at home orders during the pandemic.
President Trump in April 2020 signed an executive order that deemed meatpacking plants to be ?critical infrastructure,? making federal authorities responsible for worker safety in meatpacking plants and barring suits from workers who contract Covid-19 at work. Unions asked meat processors to test all workers before reopening closed plants. Trump?s order allowed the plants to reopen without testing workers.
Meatpackers and many other US employers required workers returning to work to sign liability waivers, promising not to sue if they contracted Covid-19 at work. In some states, essential workers who contract Covid-19 are assumed to have contracted the disease at work, making it easier to obtain workers compensation benefits. Many service firms such as gyms and parks required their customers to sign liability waivers.
Most meatpacking plants reopened after deep cleanings at slower line speeds. As a result, there were too many hogs for meatpackers to process, and hundreds of thousands were gassed. Piglets become market-ready after six months, when they weigh about 300 pounds. Large hog farms are constantly raising new piglets, so they have little extra space to hold market-ready hogs that cannot be processed.
Covid-19 is expected to speed changes underway in meatpacking, especially automation. Tyson Foods employs 122,000 US workers to produce 20 percent of US chicken, beef, and pork, and its Manufacturing Automation Center is developing machines that can recognize differences between animals that are easy for humans to understand.
Chickens are more uniform than beef and pork, but consumer preferences for deboned and skinless chicken has added employees in processing plants. JBS?s Pilgrim?s Pride unit says that its deboning machines obtain 99 percent as much meat as humans. Meat robots must learn how to deal with soft material and variability, which is difficult. European meat plants are more automated than in the US.
Average employment in US food and beverage manufacturing was 1.7 million in 2018, including almost 30 percent in NAICS 3116, animal slaughtering and processing. BLS reported 4,100 establishments in NAICS 3116, average employment of 520,000, and total wages paid of $21.7 billion in 2018, for average weekly wages of $800. There were 4,000 establishments with average employment of 494,000 and total wages paid of $15.6 billion in 2009, for average weekly wages of $610. Meatpacking employment rose five percent and weekly wages rose 31 percent between 2009 and 2018.
Almost half of meatpacking employment is in NAICS 311615, poultry processing. There were 733 poultry establishments with average employment of 240,000 that paid $8.5 billion in 2018 for average weekly wages of $685, up from 700 establishments with average employment of 230,000 and total wages of $6.2 billion in 2008, for average weekly wages of $520. Poultry employment rose four percent and weekly wages rose 32 percent between 2009 and 2018.
Executives of Colorado-based Pilgrim?s, which produces 13 billion pounds or a sixth of US chicken each year, were charged in June 2020 with conspiring to raise chicken prices. The five largest chicken processors account for over 60 percent of all US chicken. Wholesale chicken prices rose over 10 percent between 2012 and 2018, and fell sharply in 2019.
The US Department of Justice in June 2020 sought information on the big four beef packers, JBS USA Holdings Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., Cargill Inc. and National Beef Packing. In 2019, a fire at a Tyson beef plant reduced cattle prices and raised wholesale beef prices. During the Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020, the same pattern of falling cattle prices and rising wholesale beef prices recurred, pushing meatpacker profits to an estimated $1,000 per cow.
Americans eat twice as much meat per capita as Europeans; per capita meat consumption is higher only in Argentina. Meat costs 20 to 30 percent less in the US than in Europe, but Covid-19 may raise the cost of processing meat and accelerate automation in meatpacking plants. China consumes half of the world?s pork. The US exports a quarter of the pork it produces, with China the leading destination.
Sales of plant-based meat substitutes jumped in spring 2020 amidst publicity about Covid-19 in meatpacking plants. Increased production of meat substitutes has reduced their prices.
The Rural Community Workers Alliance sued a Smithfield plant in Milan, Missouri on behalf of workers who alleged that Smithfield created a public nuisance by not protecting employees from Covid-19. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge.
Many meatpacking workers are immigrants who live in crowded housing, so Covid-19 outbreaks can spread quickly in families that include a meatpacking worker. Environmentalists have on several occasions won public nuisance suits that allege farming and meatpacking activities polluted the local water supplies.


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Click on the headlines to read the full articles.
September 14, 2020—With the launch this week of the new ACHTEL 9x7
camera, the world’s largest cinema screens are about to get sharper.
Much, much sharper. The ACHTEL 9x7, designed specifically for IMAX and
Giant Screen production, has almost twice the resolution of
industry-leading RED Monstro cameras and over 26 times their maximum
data rate, or bandwidth. But it’s not just in terms of resolution that
this extraordinary, new camera leads the way.


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5 Social Media News Stories You Need to Read This Week
By Roza TsvetkovaMay 31
All you need to create a winning social media strategy for your brand.
Published October 1st 2015
Famous ‘a-ha’ moments in tech startup don’t happen as often as you’d think.
That ‘does she have a boyfriend‘ moment from the social network didn’t actually take place.
Runaway apps are often made by people who have failed at dozens of ventures before. Success is grafted from smart iteration and incremental changes, not one-liners thrown at a whiteboard.
This week, Peeple rapidly became the most hated app in the tech industry because it was based on one of these one-liners: ‘Yelp for People’.
The concept of Peeple follows the formula of hundreds of social apps that are pumped out every month. Take an established model (Yelp, for reviews), and apply it to a new ‘sector’ (human beings, instead of restaurants).
It allows people to leave a one-to-five star rating for anyone in the world.
Founded by Julia Cordray and Nicole McCullough, Peeple has been in development for over a year. Their online documentary series launched on 9 August 2015, documenting their 90-day launch process in Silicon Valley.
However, it wasn’t until an interview in the Washington Post titled ‘Everyone you know will be able to rate you on the terrifying ‘Yelp for people’ — whether you want them to or not’ on September 30 that people started to take notice.Peeple has an eerie resemblance to MeowMeowBeenz, a fictional app from a 2014 episode of ABC’s Community.
Drawing attention to the mountain of fierce, angry mountain of negative reviews of Yelp, the Post posed a scary, Black Mirror-esque vision of the app’s widespread usage: “Imagine every interaction you’ve ever had suddenly open to the scrutiny of the Internet public.”
Naturally, this scared people. Particularly when you drill into the app’s terms and conditions.
Can you remove yourself from Peeple’s smacktalk database? No. “Not at this time,” their FAQ reads. “We may consider this feature in the future.”
While negative reviews do not go live straight away – and can only be viewed publicly if you opt-in to the app – the internet is still unhappy with the premise.
Since the article was published, Peeple’s net sentiment score jumped from 40% negative (average, for the tech industry) to 77% negative. Given how far other tech companies have gone to accommodate users’ privacy wishes, Peeple’s ‘you’re here forever’ policy is surprising. Peeple is still being talked about with a velocity of over 3,000 mentions per minute, making it one of the most popular trending topics globally.
Would you like more specific data for a story you’re writing? Get in touch with Marcus at [email protected]
Offering up analysis and data on everything from the events of the day to the latest consumer trends. Subscribe to keep your finger on the world’s pulse.
Consumer Research gives you access to deep consumer insights from 100 million online sources and over 1.4 trillion posts.
Existing customer?Log in to access your existing Falcon products and data via the login menu on the top right of the page.New customer?You'll find the former Falcon products under 'Social Media Management' if you go to 'Our Suite' in the navigation.
Brandwatch acquired Paladin in March 2022. It's now called Influence, which is part of Brandwatch's Social Media Management solution.Want to access your Paladin account?Use the login menu at the top right corner.


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The recent move of Gujarat Gas to tighten the contract terms and conditions for gas consumers may be a cause for concern for the Morbi tile manufacturers. According to some gas manufacturers, the latest move of the gas supplier will create problems, especially for the small and marginal players.
Recently, Gujarat Gas revised the pricing for supply of gas for Morbi, according to which industrial consumers are now required to sign agreements with gas supplier for the minimum guaranteed offtake (MGO) for 15 days and deposit 80% advance. Gujarat Gas will be revising its minimum guaranteed offtake (MGO) every 15 days. For non-MGO agreements consumers are required to pay spot price of Rs 106/scm instead of Rs 62/scm (which has now increased to Rs 65/scm). This new rule is likely to put the small consumers into further difficulties. Also, according to new rule, for volumes above 5.5mn-6mn units, players have to pay spot prices. It should be noted that the gas price in the northern region is at Rs 40-45/scm and is linked to the movement of Brent crude.
Meanwhile, the exporters have indicated that there is not much improvement in the situation on exports front. It should be noted that monthly exports run rate has come down from Rs 1100 crore (up to July) to Rs 550 crore due to container unavailability issues. Further, container unavailability and Omicron scare have also affected project schedule as a result of which many expansion projects are running behind the schedule.


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100 Years Dedicated to Developing the Potential of Women
Centennial committee member Andra von Behren, guest speaker Heidi Kuhn, Centennial event co-chair and past president Susie Hoganson, Centennial event co-chair and past president Trish Otstott, and Centennial dinner chair Lisa Grotts
Marc Loupe with past JLSF president Anette Harris
Greg Jorgensen with past JLSF president Judy Jorgensen
Past fashion show chair Schuyler Hudak with her sister Whitney Hudak
Past JLSF president Courtney Rice, Beppie Cerf, and past president Sally Coates
Junior League of San Francisco celebrated 100 years of service at a dinner for 100 in the rotunda at City Hall on November 1, 2012. The program included the induction of Senator Dianne Feinstein as an honorary member, and proclamations from Governor Jerry Brown, Mayor Ed Lee, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and Congresswoman Jackie Speier. Heidi Kuhn, founder of Roots of Peace, provided the keynote address.
Michelle Curtis Harris, incoming fashion show chair, announced a new format for Junior League of San Francisco’s 87th annual event, Fashion Forward: Setting Sail Into a New Century. A three day fashion showcase at Fort Mason, February 28 – March 2, 2013, will feature a marketplace with 25 boutiques, a cocktail party for young professionals, a fashion show and gala dinner, and a children’s afternoon show. Red Carpet Bay Area will support the event as a media sponsor.
Since 1911, The Junior League of San Francisco is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective leadership and actions of trained volunteers. Its purpose remains exclusively educational and charitable.
Scenes from the Junior League of San Francisco Centennial Celebration:
Past Junior League of San Francisco fashion show chairs Anne Marie Massocca (left) and Layne Gray (right) with fashion show producer Larry Hashbarger at the Junior League of San Francisco Centennial Gala
Ashley Seippel, Chelsey Seippel
Junior League members Jennifer Ellison, Loree Dowse and Jennifer Marples
Past fashion show chairs Usha Burns, Dolly Chammas and Debbie Bocci
Rhonda Mahendroo, Elizabeth Leep
Front row: Wendy Armstrong, past fashion show chair Courtney Bocci, Sophia Belloli; back row: Jasmine Stirling, Sabrina Lowell, 2013 fashion show chair Michelle Curtis Harris, Kristen Hall, Devon Dievel, Sealy Livermore
Fashion Forward: Setting Sail Into a New Century February 28 – March 2, 2013
Get ready for JLSF’s Fashion Forward: Setting Sail Into a New Century


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There is no denying that 2018 has been an excellent year for coworking spaces. Freelancers, SMEs and large enterprises – businesses from big to small and everything in between, are seeing the benefits of using shared workspaces. With more people than ever before opting for a flexible approach to business, 2019 is set to be an even bigger year for coworking, so we took a look at the top predictions for the sector this year.
The Real Estate Market
The real estate industry has finally realised that coworking is not a fad or trend. Coworking is significantly impacting the real estate industry. In 2019 it is predicted that we will see landlords and real estate companies building their own brands and more importantly, partnering with existing brands in an effort to enter such a lucrative market.
Differentiation is vital when operating in such a competitive space, and 2019 will be no different for the coworking industry. Bespoke workspaces will be prevalent throughout the sector as brands continue to find new and imaginative ways to stand out from the crowd.
We will continue to see brands grow and expand internationally in 2019. Consolidation amongst operators will also increase this year, with large brands buying existing brands to gain access to a new market.
Health & Wellness
The importance of health in the workplace will be more prevalent than ever in 2019. It is anticipated that by 2021, 90 per cent of wellness plans in the U.S. will include health trackers. With many industry experts reiterating how ‘the office is killing us’ the importance of health in the workplace is increasing.
Mental health is also at the forefront this year, with the importance of face-to-face interaction bringing people back to the office. The biggest reported struggle of remote work is lack of community – 21% of remote workers named “loneliness” as one of their main on-the-job issues.
Generation-Z is entering the workforce and are expected to comprise up to 36% of the global workforce by 2020. These new entrants are digital natives; members of this generation are likely to be increasingly comfortable with more modern technology and will be more inclined to seek remote or flexible working arrangements, rather than pursue traditional corporate roles.
They are the first generation to grow up entirely in an internet-centric society – shared workspace providers need to keep up!
Remote work will continue to grow
All signs are pointing towards increased growth amongst remote workers. The introduction of Gen Z, as well as a rise in the gig economy, are also impacting this trend, pushing more businesses towards adopting more flexible working policies. Coworking spaces are well positioned to cater to this growing trend.
2019 is set to be an even more exciting year for the sector, and we look forward to seeing all that is to come!


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The last seventeen months have taken a toll on Ontarians and the three waves of COVID-19, paired with the multiple provincial lockdowns, have seriously impacted tourism businesses’ survival and future success. The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ontario’s tourism industry have been wide-ranging and significant—including the many businesses that encompass Toronto’s visitor economy.
The province is reopening and while many businesses are finally able to operate, many tourism businesses are encountering challenges to reopening, rebuilding, and long-term recovery just as government supports begin to wind down. The ongoing lockdowns forced many tourism workers to find work elsewhere, ultimately worsening the pre-existing labour shortage that existed before the pandemic.
Tourism businesses need workers; many businesses are eager to fully reopen, but are restricted due to limited staff. For example, many restaurants are unable to open entire sections of their dining areas because they do not have enough servers available. Tourism businesses’ inability to reopen to their full capacity because of labour shortages is being projected to cost the economy billions of dollars in lost revenue (Tourism HR Canada).
In order for tourism businesses to be successful, they need workers. That will require an extensive campaign to attract former workers back into the sector, we will need to attract new entrants to the industry and revisit immigration regulations to recognize the necessity for Canada to welcome international students and new Canadians into the tourism and hospitality sector.
Another important element of recovery for the tourism industry is extending current economic support programs such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS). Our recovery to pre-pandemic levels will take several years and we need government to support the industry throughout this embryonic recovery period and guard against a disjointed, uneven or underwhelming recovery.
We also need to address the increasing levels of business’ debt. Given the disproportionate economic impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry’s recovery, businesses are struggling to repay loans that they took on during the numerous provincial lockdowns. As reopening in Ontario is still limited and the border continues to be closed, many businesses are having difficulties reaching financial solvency. The industry needs increased loan forgiveness and extended interest-free grace periods. Many tourism businesses heavily relied on the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) and the Regional Recovery and Relief Fund (RRF) to avoid bankruptcy. In order for businesses to recover and succeed long-term, there needs to be increased loan forgiveness and extended interest-free grace periods for these loan programs.
These are just a few of the steps necessary to give the tourism industry a chance at rebuilding and recovering. Investing in the future workforce capacity of the industry and supporting the financial sustainability of tourism businesses will aid in the industry’s immediate and long-term success. Ontario may be over the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism businesses will be long-lasting.
To find out more about TIAO and the work the association does on behalf of 200,000 businesses and 400,000 employees in the tourism and hospitality industry, visit TIAOntario.ca.


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Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. reported a $1.6 billion quarterly net loss on Wednesday due to a write-down in the value of its publishing businesses.
Apple and Amazon have changed their policies about letting users update account information over the phone, after hackers successfully exploited flaws in both systems to gain access to a journalist’s online accounts.
Northeast Indiana has a peculiar problem.
American Airlines’ pilots have overwhelmingly rejected a tentative labor agreement, making it more likely the bankrupt carrier will impose even harsher concessions on the 8,000 pilots than the deal proposed.
U.S. stocks were little changed Wednesday as investors took a breather with the three major indexes at their highest levels since early May.
Starbucks Coffee Co. has signed on with Square Inc. to process its credit and debit card purchases, the coffee shop franchiser said Wednesday.
John J. Licata is the founder and chief energy strategist for Blue Phoenix Inc., an independent research and consulting company focused on clean energy.
A Wal-Mart store manager in a small military town in Canada got an urgent phone call last month from “Gary Darnell” in the home office in Bentonville, Ark.
Even though home prices are rebounding in some parts of the country, the overall housing market won’t start turning the corner until next spring, according to the latest forecast from Fiserv.
Your smartphone is your camera, your calendar, and your communications center. Why shouldn’t it be your bank too?


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The 'Evil List' of 30 tech companies, and more
Your tech digest, by way of the DGiT Daily newsletter, for Thursday, January 16.
1. Tech’s ‘Evil’ List
Slate has compiled an “Evil List” of the 30 most damaging tech companies by surveying “a wide range of journalists, scholars, advocates, and others” to figure out which tech companies are most concerning.
First, what is ‘evil’ exactly?
- “We don’t mean evil in the mustache-twirling, burn-the-world-from-a-secret-lair sense—well, we mostly don’t mean that—but rather in the way Googlers once swore to avoid mission drift, respect their users, and spurn short-term profiteering, even though the company now regularly faces scandals in which it has violated its users’ or workers’ trust. We mean ills that outweigh conveniences. We mean temptations and poison pills and unanticipated outcomes.”
- The word “evil” is a touch disingenuous for many of the companies that make the list: probably the weirdest of the 30 is ‘The Grid’ (yes the actual power grid infrastructure that delivers electricity, at #27).
- But the list has value because of the companies you might not be aware of.
- Amazon (#1 “most evil”), Apple (#6), Facebook (#2), and Google (#3) hold prominent spots and their bad behaviors are explored with fresh insights. Not a lot new there.
- But it’s companies like mSpy (#30), Cellebrite (#29), Vigilant Solutions (#25), Palantir Technologies (#4), and more, that really do appear to be vastly ethically challenged from the outset.
- mSpy is a phone-spying software company, aimed at parents for tracking kids. But according to the company’s own research, 50% of people are using the app to actively surveil a romantic partner. It provides secret access to monitor another person’s messages, locations, social media, browsing histories, calls, and anything more you need to cyberstalk. Yikes. (Google booted it from its Play Store last year.)
- Cellebrite is “a forensics company based in Israel that breaks into personal devices,” often for law enforcement, which has been used by less democratic countries to arrest legitimate journalists reporting on genocide.
- And Vigilant Solutions offers “artificial intelligence and analytics … [as] police departments surveillance tools, which can help them to skirt the Fourth Amendment.”
- The ACLU sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over its use of a license plate database maintained by Vigilant to track the cars of undocumented immigrants. As Slate’s expert said: “having the ability to trace people’s movements through space directly restricts our freedom of movement and association.”
- The full list is worthy of your time.
2. Sony sends invites for MWC event, likely launching Xperia 5 Plus (Android Authority).
3. Huawei’s next foldable phone (likely the Mate XS) could be cheaper and smaller than the Mate X, but will it launch outside of China? (Android Authority).
4. Pulse oximeter: What is Pulse Ox, why is it in more and more wearables, and why does it matter? (Android Authority).
5. Apple has acquired Xnor.ai, a company working on AI for image-recognition for about $200M – and that’s left some Wyze cameras without people detection (The Verge).
6. The new Microsoft Edge browser running on Chrome’s backend software Chromium is out, and there are a few extra features (Ars Technica).
8. Mozilla has been forced to lay off 70 employees as it waits for new products to generate revenue (TechCrunch).
10. Here’s why Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon was chosen over other contenders (Gizmodo).
11. Letting slower passengers board airplanes first really is faster, study finds (Ars Technica). Also: The best and worst US airlines of 2019 (WSJ, $).
DGiT Daily: Your tech resource
The DGiT Daily delivers a daily email that keeps you ahead of the curve for all tech news, opinions, and links to what’s going down in the planet’s most important field. You get all the context and insight you need, and all with a touch of fun, and the daily fun element that you otherwise miss.


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Gaming solutions provider Yggdrasil has launched its portfolio of casino games with London-listed operator 888.
888 customers in the United Kingdom and Denmark now have access to popular Yggdrasil online slots including the blockbuster Vikings series and latest releases Cazino Cosmos and Champions of Rome, with a rollout in Sweden set to follow.
The launch also gives 888 access to Yggdrasil’s BOOST range of complementary in-game promotional tools to drive player engagement and retention.
“Going live with 888 is an exciting deal and expands the reach of our games portfolio in several regulated markets,” said Fredrik Elmqvist, chief executive of Yggdrasil.
“888 is one of the market-leaders in online gaming and we are thrilled that they are now offering our games to their players.”
Guy Cohen, SVP of B2C at 888 Holdings, added: “Product excellence is our top priority at 888 Casino. We want to offer the user the best possible experience with the highest-quality gaming content on the market.
“As an innovative provider of online casino games, we are excited to boost our portfolio of games with top-notch Yggdrasil titles. Our players will be delighted with these new games.”


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The rental car giant said booking around the Christmas holidays for places like California and Florida are spiking to twice 2021 levels. More evidence that leisure travel is showing no signs of slowing down.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc on Thursday reported a 12% jump in quarterly revenue, as demand for rental cars stayed strong amid surging leisure travel and constrained production from automakers.
The company’s revenue rose to about $2.5 billion for the quarter through September from $2.23 billion a year ago, while net income rose just 1% to $577 million, or $1.33 per share, reflecting intentionally elevated maintenance costs to address out-of-service levels.
“We managed the fleet pretty aggressively,” Hertz Chief Executive Stephen Scherr said in an interview.
He said Hertz was enjoying the same strong conditions for travel reported by airlines, hotels and others, seeing “undeniable strength in demand across leisure, corporate and for us our ride-share business.”
Scherr said there were “elevated bookings” for international inbound travelers for upcoming trips despite the strong dollar. Booking around the Christmas holidays for places like California and Florida are running twice 2021 levels. “Leisure demand is big,” Scherr said.
The car rental industry, tied closely to airline traffic and hotel bookings, has seen a robust rebound due to pent-up desire to travel after an easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Scherr said the length of corporate car rentals has increased on average by a little more than one day as more business travelers tack on vacation to a work trip.
Consumers have also increasingly opted for rental cars as automakers such as Ford Motor Co and General Motor Co have struggled to fulfill demand due to supply shortages.
Last month, Hertz said it plans to order up to 175,000 General Motors electric vehicles over the next five years, after announcing plans in October 2021 to buy 100,000 Tesla EVs.
Hertz currently has about 40,000 EVs out of 500,000 vehicles in the fleet — and is seeing 50% lower maintenance costs on its EV fleet.
Hertz’s goal is for 25% of its fleet to be electric by the end of 2024.
Hertz said corporate business reached 75% of pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter and corporate rentals are boosting EV demand by businesses seeking to reduce their emissions.
Hertz shares were down about 1% in midday trading.
(Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Maju Samuel, David Holmes and Mark Porter)
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RIM today launched its new BlackBerry Storm smartphone. The phone has a full touchscreen , along with an impressive 3.2 megapixel camera, and more curiously, an intuitive touchscreen “which can be pressed down like buttons on a keyboard.” Will this be enough to give the iPhone a run for its money? TimesOnline has the scoop here.
The BlackBerry Storm will also debut with an app store, similar to what’s available for the iPhone. AppleInsider has the scoop here.
And if you’re still craving info about the Blackberry Storm, then look no further than Boygeniusreport which has the BlackBerry Storm’s official press images and specs here and the BlackBerry Storm User Guide here.


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Source: Yahoo News
Source: Yahoo News
During work hours, 1,000 workers could be crammed into one 105-foot by 105-foot room. Inside the factory, to which Microsoft has outsourced since at least 2003, workers assembled such Microsoft products as the LifeCam VX-7000, Basic Optical Mouse and Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 6000, according to the NLC.
Thousands of Chinese teens and young adults work 15 hours a day at 65 cents per hour, prohibited from talking or listening to music, in abysmal conditions at the KYE Systems factory where they assemble Microsoft hardware that is exported to the
, United States Europe and . Japan
So reports the National Labor Committee, which on Tuesday released the culmination of three years of incognito interviews and photography inside the infamous
, gadget factories. Though Microsoft is not the only company to outsource manufacturing to KYE, it accounts for about 30 percent of the factory's work, the NLC said. "We are like prisoners," one worker told the NLC. "It seems like we live only to work. We do not work to live. We do not live a life, only work." Dongguan, China
The workers – mostly women aged 18 to 25 – work from to They eat horrid meals from the factory cafeterias. They have no bathroom breaks during their shifts, and must clean the toilets as discipline, according to the NLC. They sleep in factory dormitories, 14 workers to a room. They must buy their own mattresses and bedding, or else sleep on 28-inch-wide plywood boards. They "shower" with a sponge and a bucket. And many of the workers, because they're young women, are regularly sexually harassed, the NLC alleges.Young workers rest during a rare 10-minute break while manufacturing Microsoft mice at a KYE Systems factory in
. Dongguan, China
Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech and Asus also outsource production to KYE Systems.
"Since the young Chinese workers would never dream of making demands against Microsoft or the other corporations, this permits the corporations to tout their codes of conduct while knowing full well that they will never be implemented. It's all just part of the game."
The National Labor Committee's report includes a narrative from one KYE factory worker whose jobs consisted entirely of sticking self-adhesive rubber feet to the bottom of Microsoft computer mice. Peel, place, repeat.
But the monotony of sitting (or standing) for 12 hours, applying foot after foot to mouse after mouse, was not the worst of the worker's testimony. It was the militaristic management and sleep deprivation that affected the worker most, according to the NLC's report. "I know that I can choose not to work overtime, but if I don't work overtime, then I am stuck with only 770 (Chinese yuan, or $112.67, per month) in base wages," the worker said, as reported by the NLC. "This is not nearly enough to support a family. My parents are farmers without jobs. They also do not have pensions. I also need to worry about getting married, which requires a lot of money. "Therefore, I still push myself to continue working in spite of my exhaustion. When I finish my four hours of overtime, I'm extremely tired. At this time, even if someone offered me an extravagant dinner, I probably would refuse. I just want to sleep!"
Teens and young adults make up the majority of workers at the KYE Systems factory, which produces many Microsoft hardware products.
Though many factories are known for sweatshop-like conditions, Microsoft may not be entirely knowledgeable about the alleged environment at KYE Systems. "Corporate audits of the KYE factory by Microsoft and other high-tech companies have also failed miserably over the last several years," the NLC's report states. "At the KYE factory the process of preparing for monitoring visits is somewhat subtle. Management instructs the workers to 'answer the clients' questions very carefully.' They should say they never work more than 12 hours a day and overtime is less than 36 hours a month. "Workers are told to respond they are 'very satisfied' when asked about working conditions, their dorms and meals. To make this sound even more 'authentic,' workers are told to 'spontaneously' mention other factories where they had worked in the past, where conditions were 'awful.' They are more 'hopeful' now that that they are working at KYE."
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Four lucky winners on Wednesday were awarded cannabis dispensary permits under a new program designed to help Oakland residents affected by the U.S. war on drugs
Recent posts by The Cannifornian
Many California shoppers have been surprised by the tax rates that have taken effect since Jan. 1, when recreational cannabis sales became legal
Sky High Holistic, a previous target of Santa Ana police, was one of two dispensaries closed by city officials Tuesday morning.
In one California hospital, medical marijuana patients can’t volunteer to help comfort patients in their dying days.
The day after Councilwoman Monica Garcia recommended a company get a monopoly on transporting cannabis, she received a $4,400 campaign contribution from the company’s CEO.
The first state license for a cannabis business in L.A. went to MedMen Beverly Hills.
Spoiler alert, Californians like weed.
California legislators are launching letter-writing campaigns, proposing new laws and discussing federal lawsuits to safeguard legal marijuana.
Los Angeles officials last Friday started issuing temporary approvals to cannabis businesses, which allows those businesses to apply for state licenses.
After recreational sales became legal, houses close to Denver dispensaries saw their value increase more than 8 percent, says a new study.
People from around the Los Angeles area lined up Tuesday outside shops in West Hollywood, some of the few in the area that are licensed to sell recreational marijuana.
Celebrating a major shift in cultural attitudes about cannabis, Californians lined up at dispensaries up and down the state Monday morning.
It’s wise to educate yourself a bit on available strains, products and methods before you take your first shopping trip.
California’s Department of Food and Agriculture started accepting applications for temporary licenses Monday, and issued the first license that same day
The North Coast’s two state representatives are calling on the state to cap commercial cannabis farms to one acre per person, saying it will protect small farmers from larger companies.
Some 25,000 people are expected to head to San Bernardino this weekend to watch hip-hop shows, sample marijuana products and celebrate cannabis culture during Tommy Chong’s Blazers Cup. The festival is one of a couple dozen marijuana-themed events held each year at the city’s National Orange Show center. And California’s…
As cannabis consumption becomes fashionable, the world of high fashion is also embracing the plant in subtle and bold ways.
Marijuana businesses got their first look at 276 pages of regulations they must abide by come Jan. 1, when the state will start issuing licenses for the multibillion-dollar industry and allowing recreational sales to start for the first time.
A fast-growing world of athletes — from pros to weekend fitness enthusiasts — are incorporating cannabis into regular workouts and competitions.
San Jose residents next year can buy marijuana at any of the city’s 16 licensed medical pot shops, the City Council decided in a unanimous vote on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at destinations around the globe where cannabis freedom can be a perk or a focus of your next vacation.
Growing cannabis for personal use may be legal in California, but it will cost you at least $160 in Humboldt County’s city of Blue Lake.
The California Bureau of Cannabis Control has organized three workshops to help scores of entrepreneurs navigate industry licensing ahead of the scheduled Jan. 1 start of adult-use marijuana sales.
An online payment company has shut down a fundraising campaign set up to support cannabis cultivators who’ve been impacted by the deadly wildfires in California, saying marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Two former San Jose city employees launched the “Silicon Valley Cannabis Alliance,” a trade organization for Santa Clara, San Benito and San Mateo counties.
California cannabis farmers’ harvest worries have been compounded by wildfires and new expenses of marijuana legalization.
The world’s biggest marijuana market will open for business in less than three months, as marijuana sales for anyone 21 and older become legal in California.
As the legalized marijuana industry expands in California, it could seriously challenge state goals to reduce greenhouse emissions.
Environmental groups see regulation and oversight of cannabis cultivation as key factors in minimizing impact as the industry moves forward.
Starting in January, when California’s vast legal marijuana market opens, all cannabis must be tested — and most chemicals will be banned.
The pressure is on for Los Angeles, as some anticipate that the city will be among the hottest marijuana markets in the country, if not the world.
A trade agreement with South American countries is largely blamed for the failure of greenhouse nurseries along the California coast. Now the vacant flower greenhouses are getting snapped up in a cannabis land boom.
Terra Tech, a national cannabis company announced a $7 million deal to buy The Reserve dispensary in Santa Ana, which has been co-owned by rapper The Game.
County supervisors have approved a 45-day moratorium on marijuana growing operations that can be extended for two years while they consider next steps in what officials called a changing landscape, as the state drafts its own regulations on recreational pot cultivation.
Two years ago, former NFL All-Pro lineman Kyle Turley began using marijuana in place of painkillers and other pharmaceuticals. Since then he has become one of the biggest advocates of cannabis for treatment of football injuries.
Former Cincinnati Bengals star linebacker Reggie Williams doesn’t go anywhere without his 96-hour cannabis patch for pain relief. It helps him live with a right knee that is as gnarled as redwood burl.
After years of managing pain through the use of alcohol, nonprescription anti-inflammatory drugs and highly addictive opioids, some former football players are turning to cannabis for relief.
NFL players hope CBD research leads to breakthroughs with treatment for neurological disorders including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
More than nine months after San Bernardino residents voted to allow medical cannabis businesses in town, city officials have approved a dispensary permit for the location now occupied by Flesh Showgirls.
The Humboldt County Deputy Sheriff’s Organization launched a public outreach and advertising campaign this week against illegal indoor cannabis grows and is calling on the public to weigh in on potential solutions.
Feuding owners of Orange County’s first medical marijuana dispensary, South Coast Safe Access filed rival lawsuits alleging a range of illegal behavior.
Veterinarians are seeing an unforeseen consequence of marijuana legalization — the accidental poisoning of pets who consume their owners’ weed.
It’s in the NFL’s interest to recognize now what its players did long ago: Cannabis is a far safer and more effective treatment for pain than the powerful and dangerous opioids the league is doling out.
Yolo County, California is fostering what could be a prime example of the cannabis industry working in tandem with local economy and law.
An active campaigner to legalize recreational cannabis in California will head the agency tasked with regulating the Los Angeles marijuana industry.
California government, financial and marijuana business leaders met last week in a far-from-resolved debate over whether a state-run bank could be the solution to the cannabis industry’s banking problem.
As California’s legal marijuana industry booms, property owners and entrepreneurs are seizing the chance to transform spaces across the state into cannabis grow sites, processing facilities and dispensaries.
A former Congressional aide was arrested on federal bribery and extortion charges that allege he took $5,000 in a shakedown of a Compton marijuana store.
Here’s an update on license applications for Oakland’s new cannabis reparations program that requires half of all medical marijuana licenses go to “equity” applicants.
California officials announced they must craft recreational marijuana sales rules under an “emergency rulemaking process” that bypasses additional public hearings.


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January 15, 2018 — The government is investing $450,000 in NB Power’s eCharge Network, which will increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations in New Brunswick from 10 to 19.
January 12, 2018 — Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr has announced a $120 million investment to expand the network of electric vehicle charging and alternative refuelling stations across Canada.
July 18, 2017 - NB Power recently unveiled the eCharge Network: the province’s first electric vehicle (EV) charging network aimed at giving drivers “worry-free travel everywhere in the province”.
IES Ottawa Lighting and Lighting Controls Trade Show
February 21, 2019
AD eCommerce Summit
February 25-27, 2019
Alberta Energy Efficiency Summit


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Speaking to the PA news agency, the Star Trek star said: “I’ve got some aches and pains I didn’t have a few years ago. But, I’m finding out there are many things that help aches and pains that we didn’t know about just a few years ago.”
He continued: “Well, THC and CBD, and that kind of thing. It’s magical. I’ve had swollen joints where it hurts, you rub some on and while you’re rubbing it on, the pain disappears. It’s magical.”
CBD and THC are compounds known as cannabinoids, found in the cannabis plant, and are legal in parts of the United States under certain conditions.
CBD is a non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the marijuana plant, while THC is the chemical in the cannabis plant that gives users a feeling of euphoria.


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LUTZ, FL, (WFLA) – Nestled right off of I-75 and State Road 56 in Lutz, hundreds of workers are getting ready for a big opening day at Tampa Premium Outlets on Thursday.
Shoppers on the hunt for everything from sensible shoes to silver watches will find it at this outdoor shopping mecca.
“The great thing about value shopping is that it really is a sport. They see things for 25% to 65% off and they just love that bargain!” said Lee Morris of Simon Malls.
Those in Pasco County don’t see this 441,000 square foot mall as just a place to shop, but as an international destination for those visiting the area.
“When an international tourist comes to visit us, they come with an overnight bag and no luggage. They shop, they buy luggage, they fill it up and they go home,” said Ed Caum of Visit Pasco.
It also marks a place of employment for hundreds, not only for those inside the stores, but for those workers who helped build them- along with 2,000 parking spaces.
“It created 500 or so construction jobs and 800 full and part time positions once the center is open,” said Morris.
A trip to the mall might take a slightly negative toll on your bank account, but this new outlet center is expected to have a positive one on Tampa Bay.
The grand opening hours will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The Tampa Premium Outlets plan to have 90 stores opening. See a full list here.
Grand opening fireworks are planned for Friday, October 30th at 9 p.m. Live music will take place on the main stage at Lagoon Court throughout the day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Kids can enjoy strolling entertainment as you shop including slit walkers, face painters and a magician.
The Outlets say there will be prizes such as gift cards and handbags given away from the different outlet stores ranging from a $150-$450 value on Thursday and Friday. A number of outlet stores will have in-store events during the grand opening celebration, too.
There will also be a special appearance by Bethenny Frankel. Shoppers can meet the TV personality, best selling author and Skinnygirl founder at the outlets on Saturday, October 31st in the VIP Shopper Club Lounge.
See a full schedule and get all the details on the Tampa Premium Outlets grand opening here.
Some residents are concerned the mall will increase traffic. Paige Soares commutes in the area. She said it’s tough getting onto I-75 during rush hour. It’s even worse during the holidays, said Soares, who plans to shop at the mall.
“It kind of stinks because when we moved over here it was all cows and farmlands. So it was easy and fast to go anywhere, so it’s a little less desirable but I guess it has it’s perks,” she said.
Another commuter is also concerned.
“I live going this way and the only way I can make a left on the road is to all the way up to the intersection where the mall is and make a left, so I’m not sure I’ll get home at a decent time, but I hear it’s supposed to be good for the economy and they’re excited about it so, so be it,” Courtney Jones said.
Mall employee Valentina Cardona plans to leave early. She anticipates madness. “I anticipate that there’s gonna be a lot of back up. There’s definitely gonna be. If you’re trying to get to the mall early, especially if you work there, you’re gonna have to (leave) 30 to an hour before you head into work,” Cardona said.


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100 new jobs have been announced by new biscuit company East Coast Bakehouse at the Donore Road Business Park as part of a €15m investment.
The former management team of the Jacob Fruitfield Group has established the new Drogheda-based biscuit business. East Coast Bakehouse plans to manufacture its own product line for the Irish and UK markets.
This project is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.
Michael Carey, CEO of East Coast Bakehouse, said: “Every week over €3m worth of biscuits is purchased and enjoyed by Irish consumers, almost all are currently imported.
“We aim to provide a new commercially competitive local Irish source of biscuits. There is also a great opportunity to provide high quality biscuits to UK retailers.”
He said the firm had looked at a number of locations for their facility before settling on Drogheda.
Mr Carey said: “Our location on Ireland’s east coast will play a key role in the future of our company. We have worked very closely with Enterprise Ireland on this project and we have been encouraged by local support so far for the development of this facility
“We are very pleased to be launching this new venture. Our management team combined has over 60 years experience in the sector and our drive to bake better biscuits, using select ingredients in a sustainable manner will become key to our business’ success in the coming years.”


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Learn about streaming's role in a comprehensive video advertising strategy. The report published by Comcast Advertising's Agency Leadership Council highlights consumer survey data, agency leader perspectives and more to reach a singular conclusion: the most effective advertising campaigns combine TV and streaming.
The Asian American community is growing faster than any other major racial or ethnic group and is projected to be the largest minority population by 2065. In a new mini report, learn what advertisers should know about Asian American consumers and viewers in the U.S.
In this mini report, learn about the diversity, buying power, purchasing behaviors, viewing habits, and advertising preferences of Hispanic consumers and audiences.
The data-informed strategies brands and media buyers are using on digital are now possible with TV. Learn more about how TV improves the performance of digital channels and enhances growth strategies in a summarized series of research.


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Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry will start applying new commercial companies law promulgated by Royal Decree No 18/2019 with effect from Wednesday (April 17).
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Badi, Acting Director of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said: "The new Commercial Companies Law will help in attracting investments, enhancing governance and inclusiveness and will speed up registration of commercial companies."
Al Badi said that the new law added an another form of the commercial companies, namely the one-person company, which the law allowed that it can be established by only one person, whether natural or juridical, provided that this company has provisions of a limited liability company.
It also says that for the registration of the commercial companies it is a must they have documents of establishments and all the amendments written in Arabic or otherwise would be considered as invalid. Those who want to uphold the invalidity in the face of partners or shareholders is not found in the law repealed.
Mohammed Al Badi said that the new law set the standard for obtaining Omani nationality for commercial companies. For this it has to be established in the Sultanate of Oman according to the laws of Oman. The new law also allowed establishment of companies operating outside the borders of the Sultanate off shore in the free zones.
He said that the commercial company has legal entity during the period of its establishment, therefore, they would have to submit their decisions and minutes with the competent authority as required by law to be deposited within seven days from the day following the issuance of the decision, or convening of the general body or an act which makes it necessary to deposit. Everything would be published electronically according to the provisions of this law.
He said that the new Commercial Companies Law makes it obligatory for the competent authorities to set the governing principles for commercial companies.
The new law also makes it mandatory for the commercial companies to operate according to Islamic law and to comply with the provisions of Islamic Shariah in their conduct. The partner in the company or the shareholder or the director or the board of directors of the company can not add any partner to his account or to the account of a relative to the second degree.
The new law added that the publication of the decision to convert the company from one form to another would be within the period of 15 days from the date of it issuance.


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Over 127 million primary DTT households worldwide
According to a report published by Digital TV Research, 675 million households around the world access digital television services.
Approximately 370 million households adopted digital television between 2007 and 2011. In this period, digital penetration increased from 23.5% of the world population to 48.5% of the population.
Source: Digital TV Research


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Foremost e-commerce giant, Konga has inked a partnership with top Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturer-Unilever. This partnership will see that many products on the brand’s stables are within the reach of shoppers across the country.
To say the least, shoppers in Nigeria are in for a treat as Konga has also rolled out free delivery on products within this range. These products include but are not limited to Royco seasoning package, Lipton Yellow Label Tea, Close-up Red Hot, and Herbal lines, Sunlight detergent, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pepsodent, Vaseline, and Shea Moisture, among others.
This partnership is one that will enrich and delight most shoppers. Especially with the ongoing lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 crisis. This calls as an opportunity for YOU to stock up on essential products and household items at zero delivery cost. All you have to do is CLICK HERE to place your orders and enjoy free delivery right to your doorstep today.
Above all, this is proof of Konga’s commitment to continually push boundaries in meeting and exceeding every shopper’s expectation. Visit konga.com or walk into any Konga retail store near you for more.


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A woman’s TikTok went viral after she exposed an Instacart glitch in which a male shopper allegedly delivered heaps of brown ginger instead of the ginger root she ordered.
In the nine-second clip, TikTok user @viviandluong revealed a plastic bag full of ground ginger in several small sachets. The content creator shared with her 31,000 followers that when she placed an order on Instacart, she only asked for a slice of ginger root.
Expressing her frustration in the caption, the TikToker wrote, “It literally said ‘GINGER ROOT’…Petition to ban men from Instacart unless they take an incompetence test.”
@viviandluong It literally said “GINGER ROOT”… Petition to ban men from Instacart unless they take an incompetence test ✋🏼😭😭 #instacart #instacartshopper #instacartfails ♬ Original sound – Phonographic material
The Daily Dot contacted @viviandluong via email and TikTok comment on the video. This isn’t the first time a customer has complained about male Instacart shoppers — other creators have gone viral after telling how their buyers got them nonsensical substitutes, lied about items being out of stock, or contacted each other directly have refused to complete their orders.
This TikToker’s video was viewed more than 161,000 times as of Saturday, with female viewers agreeing with the creator.
“You really should get people to take some kind of aptitude test before working for shopping apps,” agreed one viewer.
“I think training is actually a good suggestion and they should listen,” repeated a second.
“Heavy on the caption,” wrote a third.
Some even shared their stories of male Instacart buyers messing up their orders.
“I got sleeping pills once and they were gone so he replaced them with caffeine pills,” shared one user.
“I legitimately asked for ONE bunch of 6 bananas and he brought 6 bunches of 5 bananas,” said a second.
“I asked for a loaf of fresh bread and he said he couldn’t find any and got me a bag of frozen Texas Toast with Garlic Bread instead,” commented a third.
Others, however, jumped to the male buyer’s defense and criticized the creator.
“As a former Instacart buyer, you probably ordered the wrong unit and blamed it on the driver. The driver just grabs what to get,” one person said.
“I guarantee that the replacement or item quantity has been communicated to the buyer by the app. Don’t assume until you’ve done both sides with me,” criticized a second.
“I’m just saying if you want it your way, do it yourself instead of being lazy,” condemned a third.
@viviandluong responded in the comments, writing: “I said…literally ginger root and my replacement was a refund. Instead, he got $16 worth of ground ginger and the app cost was only supposed to be $2,” she said. “Context was provided, instructions just weren’t followed. I’m not too rushed, just dumbfounded.”
We crawl the web so you don’t have to.
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*Initial publication: March 11, 2023 3:13 pm CST
Melody Heald is a culture writer. Her work can be found in Glitter Magazine, BUST Magazine and more.
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/male-instacart-shopper-ginger-root-fail/ Customer says male Instacart buyer received their order incorrectly


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The Netherlands-based independent research organization TNO is far of a one trick pony; the collective has contributed numerous innovations in both 3D printing innovation and beyond. Having may already conquered 3D printing conclude food products over the past couple of years, TNO has come to realize that the ‘ingredients’ utilized for food-based 3D printing are somehow much identical to those needed to 3D print pharmaceutical drugs. This has led TNO to expand their 3D printing innovation into the medical field, and are now trying to that successfully 3D print biocompatible oral dosage forms (ODFs) for safe human intake.
The pharmaceutical research is being led by TNO’s Sr. Business Developer Predictive Health Technologies Steven Erpelinck. Not only is TNO looking to replicate traditionally generated ODFs with their 3D printing innovation, they are in fact looking to improve it too. By utilizing 3D printing, TNO believes that pharmaceutical drugs can be created in a much additional free and expansive way. Potential facts that can become additional accessible through 3D printing innovation comes with API dosage and distribution, excipient use and distribution, and in addition tablet structure and shape. Here is the full list of future advantages to via 3D printing innovation to create ODFs:
- Easy fabrication of ODFs with varying dosages.
- Fabrication of ODFs with specific, created release profiles.
- Easy fabrication of ODFs containing multiple APIs.
- Fabrication of ODFs with created internal structure (e.g. micro-channels).
- Fabrication of one-of-a-kind ODF shapes (marketing, anti-counterfeiting).
TNO is not only stopping at the production of these ODFs, they obviously must be tested on bio-similar vitro platforms to ensure safe consumption. This is why they have created testing platforms such as the InTESTine, that replicates various parts of the human GI tract. By testing these ODFs on the InTESTine, TNO can investigate only how biocompatible these 3D printed ODFs are with the human body. “These ex-vivo experiments represent the human gut physiology and has shown to be quite predictive investigating the oral bio-availability in humans,”said Erpelinck. From food to pharma, TNO has go ond their top-notch research on 3D printing innovation, and can go on to investigate bio-availability and personalized medicine through their 3D printed ODFs.


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DeSo, a brand new layer-1 blockchain constructed from the bottom as much as decentralize social media, simply launched decentralized on-chain end-to-end encrypted group chats, a first-of-its-kind innovation. On-chain messages are immune to censorship and can be utilized pseudonymously with out supplying private data, similar to Bitcoin or Ethereum.
DeSo is the one blockchain that helps seamless end-to-end encrypted on-chain messaging right this moment, and the extension to group chats is a first-of-its-kind breakthrough. The platform lately raised $200 million from Coinbase, Sequoia, and Andreessen Horowitz. $DESO, the native forex of the DeSo blockchain and is listed on Coinbase.
In the intervening time, Sign is the preferred personal messaging app, and but customers can’t use it with out coming into a personally-identifying piece of data: their cellphone quantity. This makes it in order that anybody with entry to Sign’s database will get full details about who the person messaging and when. Moreover, as a result of Sign is a centralized service, it has been blocked in main nations like China.
Think about if making a Bitcoin pockets required customers to surrender their cellphone numbers. Why can’t customers have the identical degree of privateness and censorship resistance that they’ve with Bitcoin however utilized to their communications?
At the moment, the DeSo blockchain brings Bitcoin’s pseudonymity and censorship resistance to messaging with the launch of decentralized end-to-end encrypted on-chain direct messages and group chats.
Because of a latest integration with MetaMask, customers of DeSo apps like Diamond can enroll with out coming into any private data. Moreover, as a result of DeSo is a decentralized layer-1 blockchain, all messages are censorship resistant, that means that nothing can cease the customers recipient from getting their message, even when they’re in a rustic with restricted free speech.
“DeSo is the one blockchain that would help one thing like this right this moment,” says Nader Al-Naji, the creator of DeSo. “It prices about $75 to retailer a 200-character message on Ethereum, and about fifteen cents to retailer it on Solana, Avalanche, or Polygon. In distinction, DeSo is one ten-thousandth of a cent, making it the primary blockchain able to disrupting storage-heavy functions like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Sign,” Al-Naji provides.
That is the newest in a latest string of successes for DeSo. The platform listed on Coinbase earlier this 12 months introduced a groundbreaking MetaMask integration final week that precipitated a major value surge. Many new social apps like Diamond, a web3 social community constructed on DeSo, have launched and are rising quickly with a latest surge in person numbers. Not too long ago, the platform introduced a USDC integration that has attracted many new builders to the ecosystem.
With the launch of decentralized messaging, DeSo’s true disruptive energy turns into obvious. It’s a platform that may not solely disrupt social media however a platform that may guarantee open communication and free speech for all residents of the world.


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It's a fait accompli Aston Martin and Porsche are launching a pair of low-slung, coupe-like sedans — the Rapide and Panamera, respectively — and whispers of a similar BMW peaked on arrival of the company's CS concept. Does that mean a new sub-class of touring sedan will be the latest must-have for sport-minded automakers? Probably. But a four-door Corvette? This week, Automotive News's Rick Kranz makes a case for Chevrolet to join the four-door coupe soiree by limo-izing its signature sports car. Purists would balk, he says, just as Porsche devotees will likely roll their eyes at the Panamera (though they've already had their first fainting spell with the Cayenne). And he even quotes GM's Bob Lutz as making the connection between the Porsche and Corvette brands, though no plans are in the works to follow its lead. What's more, if GM ever did stretch the 'Vette platform, Kranz says, it could be used for a desperately needed Cadillac flagship. But while it's not a completely hairbrained idea, we're going to have to side with the purists on this one. But the Cadillac? That's the one to build.
caddy already has has a flagship based on the corvette (xlr).
And bmw already has 4 door sports cars (335i, 550i m5 etc).
Having a badge enginnered vehicle to fill every possible category and niche at every given time is a sure route to mediocrity and there's already plenty of that in the industry.
If GM wanted to do the US auto-market a favor they'd build a fwd econonbox that didn't suck and sell it in the US.
stretching a sports-car (corvette) from 105 inch wheelbase to something longer makes it less of a sports car. and bolting on some crap isn't going to help with the weight, the xlr is already 600 lb's heavier than a regular corvette. a modern rear suspension setup would be nice however.


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Human capital is a company's most important asset.
It is not exactly every little boy and girl’s dream to become one day a wholesaler, but it can be a very rewarding career. How rewarding? According to a study by British research platform Small Business Prices, companies selling goods and merchandise to retailers and businesses are the most profitable in the world in terms of revenue per employee (RPE). Human capital is a company’s most important asset and wholesalers come out on top in the ranking with an average revenue figure of $6 million per employee, followed by energy and finance companies with $2 million and $1.4 million, respectively. Health care and chemicals are tied for fourth positions with $1.1 million per employee.
“Looking at the revenue produced by each employee is a good way for businesses to see how much work is not only dependent on human manpower, but also how other factors such as the use of technology come into play for speeding up processes and eliminating human activity altogether during work,” says the founder of Small Business Prices, Ian Wright. “Revenue per employee also reflects the differences in how many employees each industry rely on.”
Many influential companies that employ tens of thousands of people across the globe produce staggering profits and revenue each year. However, they are not necessarily the most efficient when it comes to getting the most value out of their hires. Wholesalers Rajesh Exports, based in India, and Trafigura Group, out of Singapore, might not be widely known to the general public but they certainly make a lot of money with very few employees. For each of its 383 workers Rajesh Exports, which is the world’s largest exporter of gold jewelry, makes over $65 million; Trafigura Group, a trading house of raw materials such as crude oil and metals, has a workforce of 4,316 and a revenue per employee of almost $42 million.
These figures, Wright points out, are many hundreds of times greater than the revenue per employee at McDonald’s, which is $100,120. The comparison, admittedly, is unfair: it is almost a universal truth that selling gold pays more than selling hamburgers. This is why the RPE ratio is most meaningful among competitors operating in the same industry, as they face similar cost structures and tax regimes. Those who will manage to expand margins and improve profitability will thrive.
Top 30 Companies In The World By Revenue Per Employee
|Rank||Company||Sector||Country||Revenue ($ Mil.)||Employees||Revenue per Employee ($ Mil.)|
|7||China Development Bank||Finance||China||103,072.90||9,507||10.84|
|8||GS Caltex||Energy||South Korea||33,052.70||3,212||10.29|
|13||World Fuel Services||Energy||U.S.||39,750.30||5,000||7.95|
|15||Plain GP Holdings||Energy||U.S.||34,055.00||4,900||6.95|
|16||Samsung Life Insurance||Finance||South Korea||29,305.80||5,420||5.41|
|17||Enterprise Products Partners||Energy||U.S.||36,534.20||7,000||5.22|
|19||Royal Dutch Shell||Energy||Netherlands||396,556.00||81,000||4.90|
|23||Amer International Group||Materials||China||76,363.10||16,901||4.52|
|26||Massacusetts Mutual Life Insurance||Finance||U.S.||39,267.20||9,844||3.99|
|28||New York Life Insurance||Finance||U.S.||43,425.30||11,388||3.81|


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In the event that gay matchmaking software, and that presently has more than twelve million users, very first appeared for the world in 2010, the monetization method you will definitely mostly end up being summed up in a single word: AdMob.
Today, memberships as well as in-app requests make up up to 80% of their money, and you can a primary ad sales force is in charge of rustling right up the others.
Over the years, Eric Silverberg, Scruff’s Ceo and you may co-founder, has been around colombian cupid dating apps since even more disenchanted with programmatic CPMs that were “regarding the cellar” and a refill price away from some post sites as little as 10%.
Particular brands bashful out-of dating travelers, mentioning brand name safety concerns, that makes it tricky for Scruff in order to monetize having advertising
Scruff has also had trouble with Facebook. The app was barred from advertising on the platform about four years ago without explanation. Silverberg assumes Scruff ran afoul of Facebook’s inscrutable content policy, although he’s never been able to figure out exactly what to do to get the ban lifted.


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As more Americans get vaccinated and stores across the country loosen their COVID-19 restrictions ever so slightly, Costco has some exciting news for fans of the store’s popular food courts.
In an interview with CNN Wednesday, Costco’s Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti confirmed the store’s food courts are indeed set to make a comeback and said he believes they will eventually return to normal operations.
“God willing. But it’s going to take some time,” he said.
As many Costco devotees will recall, the store shut down seating areas in its food courts at the beginning of the pandemic. In


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Mahindra, a domestic automaker, recently obtained money for its new electric vehicle (EV) unit at a $9.1 billion valuation and is looking to invest in an EV battery cell manufacturer to fulfil the company's future electrification needs. The manufacturer is trying to form collaborations with Volkswagen to obtain EV components and raised $250 million from British International Investment for the unit.
Anish Shah, CEO of Mahindra, told Reuters that the business was open to looking at some form of investment with a global leader in the battery-cell market in order to secure future supplies. Cooperation with Volkswagen will help the manufacturer satisfy its short to medium-term battery needs. We have no desire to engage in the production of batteries. There are those that excel at it. He said We can collaborate with them.
According to Mahindra's ambitions for electrification, the company hopes to sell 200,000 units of five electric sport utility vehicles annually by the end of 2027, or up to 30% of all of its SUV sales. The demand for battery-powered vehicles is rising, yet there is a global shortage of auto parts, so automakers are looking for ways to better manage costs and supplies. Some even invest billions of dollars in mining and companies that produce batteries and motors. Shah claimed that, with the exception of batteries and motors, the majority of the components used in electric vehicles were similar to those used in combustion-engine vehicles, and Mahindra produced most of those components on-site. To secure (battery) supplies, we will take that action if we can reach an arrangement similar to the one we have with Volkswagen. We will make whatever investment is necessary to obtain such supplies, according to Shah.
Mahindra & Mahindra has recalled over 100,000 units of the XUV700 SUV due to a possible wiring issue. The Indian automaker revealed in a regulatory filing that technicians at authorized dealerships will inspect.More


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For the past few days, a lot is being talked about the massive box office clash between two of India’s biggest superstars, Shah Rukh Khan and Prabhas. Dunki and Salaar, featuring SRK and Prabhas respectively, will be locking horns with each other on December 22, during the Christmas holiday season this year end.
Meanwhile, ever since the makers of Prabhas’ Salaar had confirmed the film’s release on December 22, fans of both the stars have been entangled in an intense online war. There have been non-stop debates on how both the movies have an edge against each other at the box office. And here’s an exciting update in connection with both the movies.
Prabhas’ Salaar has already registered over 357k interests on the popular ticket booking app BookMyShow. On the other hand, SRK’s Dunki has a mere 67K interests on BookMyShow. Prabhas fans are celebrating their favorite hero’s movie taking an edge against the Bollywood Baadshah’s movie in some way. Well, let’s wait until Christmas to see which movie will be the real winner at the box office.
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Mobile Minutes: Unions court Tesla workers; eBay AI; Apple TV; Snap valuation goals
United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams said on Thursday the union is contacting workers at Silicon Valley electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), and plans to boost efforts to convince U.S. consumers not to buy vehicles built in other countries, including those sold by the Detroit automakers.
Devin Wenig answers burning questions on artificial intelligence, e-commerce and Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jersey.
The company is testing a new Apple TV capable of streaming ultra-high-definition 4K. It may not be enough to take on Amazon and Roku.
SAN FRANCISCO ? The parent company of Snapchat is preparing to hit the road to pitch potential investors.


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RAWALPINDI: Private mill owners have increased the price of wheat flour to Rs150 per kg.
Even though, a 20-kg official wheat flour bag is available at Rs1,280, people prefer wheat from mills due to the quality of the former being low. While the price of a 20-kg wheat flour bag is between Rs2,400 to Rs2,600, a 15-kg bag of flour is available for Rs1,950.
Apart from Rawalpindi city, Cantonment and adjoining areas, the situation has reportedly become alarming in all tehsils of Murree and Rawalpindi. However, officials from the Food Department Rawalpindi claim that bags of flour are available in abundance in all grocery stores and with street vendors.
In the last year, the district administration registered more than 100 small flour mills in the district to release official wheat and in return it was to sell wheat flour at a lesser price.
Flour Mill Dealers Association President Zahoor Bhatti told Dawn that the price of wheat flour and fine flour (maida) increased due to the indifferent attitude of the food department and district administration.
He said that more than 1,000 flour mills in the province received wheat quota from the Punjab government while it sold a wheat flour bag measuring 100 kgs at Rs10,800 and an 80-kg bag of maida at Rs5,700.
He said that flour mills extract maida and semolina from wheat and sell it at a high price. He said that the food department did not monitor flour mills.
A spokesman of the district administration said that flour is available in large quantities at all grocery stores, including flour trucking points across the district, and there is no complaint of shortage or crisis in any area.
Smuggling of flour is being prevented at check posts at seven different places under the management of the Food Department, where hundreds of bags of flour are recovered daily and cases are filed against smugglers.
Published in Dawn, january 2th, 2023


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Fedobe, a leading eCommerce service provider specialising in Magento (Recently owned by Adobe) announces new offices in Sweden and Spain
Online PR News – 15-January-2019 – Stockholm – Fedobe Solutions Private Limited, an India based eCommerce specialist company announces its new CEO - Joydeep Dash and a global expansion plan.
Founded in year 2008, Fedobe has emerged as a pure Magento (https://magento.com/) focused eCommerce specialist powering successful online brands for their launch and establishment.
With a revived interest in Magento, primarily with Adobe's new parentage and its global success as an open-source technology, experienced Magento solution experts like Fedobe are looking at an exciting future.
"The eCommerce industry is experiencing a rapid growth phase. Established players like Adobe and SAP's entry is a validation of its future and the industry will continue to consolidate and build on its disruptive power in retail." Says Joydeep Dash. Joydeep is recently appointed as CEO of Fedobe and comes with 29 years of International marketing experience in IT Services. Based out of Sweden, Joydeep sees Europe as the central growth engine for Fedobe. "Fedobe, with its good track record of servicing European customers will continue to focus on the Nordics, DACH, Spain, and Italy to forge forward. We also have global customers from USA, UK, UAE, Australia, India, Brazil and other countries for whom we will strengthen the outreach by investing in dedicated local account managers" says Joydeep.
Fedobe explores partnership, representation and other routes for growth as long as it has direct access to the customers. "It's important for us to be close to our customers with an ability to react fast to customer's demands" says Olle Lindberg, upcoming Chief Marketing Officer. Olle is an acknowledged eCommerce veteran in the eCommerce industry in Sweden with a background from a number of successful start-ups as well as from several leading positions in larger companies.
"If anybody knows Magento inside out, it's Fedobe. It's been years working with them now. We are really happy with their work in converging our physical and digital stores. " Highson Menezes, Ecommerce Manager, Queropreco.
"Over the years, we have developed several frameworks, built on top of Magento, to drastically reduce development time required for new features. This has been a vital part in helping our customers build a lean & agile team and gain a competitive edge with a shorter go-to-market time." explains Guru Sanket Biswal, CTO Fedobe.
With its renewed resolve to create more successful customer stories, Fedobe intends to be the one-stop-shop Magento partner.
About Fedobe : Fedobe specializes in eCommerce design and development with Magento at it's core. Since 2010, Fedobe has powered hundreds of stores across the globe. Along with design, development and integrations, Fedobe offers 24/7 support to its customers. For more information please visit https://fedobe.com


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Did you know that 28 percent of the vehicles offered for auction in January at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale sale were red? Or that 19 percent were black? And if you add in the 16 percent that were blue, those three colors covered more than half the lots that crossed the block?
But get this: Among the cars that sold, those which brought the most money were painted black, followed by silver, yellow, blue, red, orange, white and green.
Or did you know that cars with darker-colored interiors sold for nearly $10,000 more on average than those with lighter-colored passenger compartments?
Or did you know that vehicles with manual transmissions brought more than $10,000 on average compared to those with automatics?
Says who? Says Spork Marketing, a data-driven Internet marketing company from Denver. Spork’s staff spent 30 hours analyzing the results of Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale sale and produced a colorful, informative and entertaining graphic display. The chart was produced on behalf of Spork’s client, H&H Classic Parts, a Bentonville, Ark., business that sells some 20,000 parts from more than 120 producers to people restoring or maintaining classic Chevrolet vehicles.
We hope it’s interesting and entertaining, and possibly gives them room for thought.”
— Spork spokesperson
[/pullquote]While knowing that every visit to a client’s website doesn’t result in a sale, a Spork Marketing spokesperson explained that the goal in producing the Barrett-Jackson chart was to generate increased traffic for HHClassic.com. One hope is that the chart demonstrates, she said, that H&H “is invested in thought leadership and wants to have an impact on the industry.”
The chart, the spokesperson added, isn’t “all-encompassing, an end-all and be-all, but it is interesting and gives somebody collecting cars a view of what’s current for 2014 and maybe they can glean something from it.
“We hope it’s interesting and entertaining, and possibly gives them room for thought.”
For example, were you preparing a car to sell at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, you might have been wise to paint that car black or silver — or even yellow — and to make sure the interior was darker rather than lighter in shade. Oh, and as the chart notes, there was a 20-percent premium for vehicles with manual gearboxes.
To enhance the statistical significance of its research, Spork eliminated the top and bottom five percent of vehicles in line with standard statistical deviations. However, it could be that Plymouths sold for more on average than Dodges, Chevys, Fords or Pontiacs simply because the quality of the Plymouths in the Barrett-Jackson catalog was particularly strong.
Or maybe Barrett-Jackson bidders just really like Mopar products.
Or maybe Chevys really are worth nearly $10 grand more than Fords. Or maybe there simply were a lot of Fords for sale and that brought down the average price.
Whatever, the chart is interesting and informative, and we’re guessing it also is likely to spark some interesting conversations over the work bench and at cruise-ins. Perhaps even in the “Share your thoughts!” box below.


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ASX shares that were favourite buys well during the COVID-19 crash have suffered a reversal of fortunes.
The question is whether these fallen angels now represent value.
The irony shouldn’t be lost on investors as these ASX shares have been the antithesis of value given their lofty valuations.
Best ASX COVID winners turn losers
Some obvious examples of high flying COVID winners that have dropped out of favour recently include tech darlings like the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price.
You can also add in ASX retailers that have been able to make the most of the pandemic lockdown. These are the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price, Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price and Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) share price.
There’s heated debate on whether the recent downfall in these ASX shares represent a buying opportunity. But UBS is convinced that at least one of them is a “buy” now.
Swan turns into ugly duckling
This is online beauty products retailer Adore Beauty. The Adore Beauty share price tumbled to its lowest point since its October 2020 IPO on Friday when it closed at $3.68.
Investors got spooked by its latest trading update even though management expected FY21 sales growth of 43% to 47%. This translates to $173 million to $178 million.
But this isn’t enough to keep investors onside. UBS acknowledged that the updated guidance implied a 2HFY21 sales figure of between $77 million and $82 million.
That’s 3% to 9% below UBS’ estimates and between 11% and 16% under consensus forecasts.
Why you should buy this former ASX COVID winner
ASX shares trading on sky-high valuations have no room to disappoint. This is especially so in the current environment when investors are increasingly starting to question if equities have overshot their fundamentals.
UBS does not share these concerns regarding the Adore Beauty share price. If anything, it believes the sell-off is overdone.
“While the slowdown in momentum was more than expected, our medium-term thesis has not changed, with the stock offering an attractive entry point,” said UBS.
“It has an opportunity to ride structural tailwinds (online beauty market growing ~26% pa), lift brand awareness and benefit from maturing customer cohorts.”
Adore Beauty share price looking attractive
The broker pointed out that the Adore Beauty share price is trading around 45% below its IPO price. It is also cheaper than the Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price on an enterprise value/sales to growth ratio.
UBS reiterated its “buy” rating on the Adore Beauty share price with a 12-month price target of $5.60 a share.